Chapter Thirty-Eight: Let It Begin, Right Now

The man in blue was gone, but Coredesia had no time to deal with that.

She remembered he had said something, but the content of his words slipped away the moment she tried to recall it. The memories of just now were shattered fragments. She thought she had seen something strange... Yes, she must have seen something odd... What was it, exactly? The details had vanished without a trace, like a dream that left no impression behind.

She felt dazed now, aching all over, like the morning after a night of heavy drinking.

Out of habit, Coredesia reached out a hand: "Renichi, get me a bottle of ice water..."

The young man in the suit was no longer at her side. The one she pointed at instead was Kira, whose expression was rather strange.

Coredesia's face flushed as red as her nickname: "—Don't you dare laugh!"

"Pfft..." The pink-haired idol stifled her laughter. "How are you feeling right now?"

"My head's a mess, but other than that, I'm fine." The top-hat woman turned to the middle schooler. "Hey! You okay? Do you remember your name? Any clue what just happened?"

The middle schooler's face didn't look too great, and she figured her own expression wasn't much better.

"I'm still alive. My name is Miles. It's the music's fault. Damn it, the moment I switched songs, this happened!"

Miles glanced at the playlist. After Xingli's song, all the tracks were garbled, nonsensical tunes. He was absolutely certain the old man's computer didn't have these files, and he remembered never having seen them before.

He decided not to speculate. He knew he wouldn't be able to figure out what was really going on. He laid out everything he knew: the portable music player, the man in blue, the unease after the prison break, the sense of wrongness...

Miles concluded with: "I swear, these files weren't on the computer before."

The Red Lion issued her orders without room for argument: "Miles, grab that computer and come with me. I'll take you to the nearest school—the teachers there will help you. Kira, how much have you remembered? I don't think you're completely in the dark about yourself anymore."

"Well... I might have been an idol before... And now I can be a hacker too..."

Kira clutched at the hem of her skirt, hesitating.

"It's just—I think, I guess, I might have made a deal with a lab."

Coredesia let out a silent groan. Oh heavens! Another naive kid who trusted the white coats. How many people like this had she seen before!

"Look on the bright side, Kira. At least your ability saved my life."

There was very likely something awful inside the Wings of Death's music player, and now she needed to find that man in blue. Judging by his getup, he was hardly going to be some simple character. She needed to be prepared.

Without waiting for a response, she grabbed both of them by the arm and dragged them out of the shop.

The old man with the big white beard stood at the entrance. He had just come back from delivering a pie and was about to step inside when the three of them nearly bowled him over with their momentum.

"What's wrong, little Miles—little Calder?" the old shopkeeper asked, startled. "What happened?"

Coredesia knew this old man. His grandson used to be in the same class as her and Gongsun Ce.

"Grandpa, did you see a man in blue—an Empire man?"

The old man shook his head.

"Okay. There might be a little ruckus in a bit."

That was enough for a good citizen to understand what he ought to do.

"Be careful, kids. Life is the most important thing." The old man asked no questions, not even why they were holding his computer. "I'll go hide inside for now."

"Thanks for the cooperation."

She dragged the two of them out of the alley. On a Saturday afternoon, the central district was bustling with people, mostly young students. She swept her gaze across the crowd—no sign of the man in blue among the passing faces.

She was good at breaking things, not at finding people. This time, she'd need to call in an acquaintance for help. Coredesia led the two toward the nearest school gate, just a few dozen meters from the alley.

"Kira, did Gongsun Ce ever tell you about his eldest brother?"

"No, he didn't."

"He's good at finding people, and he's a hell of a hacker too. We'll need to swing by Dingyi District first..."

She pulled Mo Yuankai's number from her contacts and pressed the call button.

The phone emitted nothing but the buzzing drone of interference. The signal seemed to be jammed.

"Wow. How cliché."

Coredesia pointed at the sky. "Hat."

*Boom!* A streak of fire burst from her fingertip, shooting straight into the clouds. The flame exploded above the street, becoming a blazing top hat burning in midair.

The pedestrians stared up at the sky in silence.

A moment later, everyone quickened their pace. More than a few broke into a run outright. People scattered toward side streets or turned around in panicked disarray, as if fleeing from a terrifying beast. A small number who tried to continue on their original path were alerted by those around them, and with sudden realization, fled in terror.

In the blink of an eye, the bustling street was left desolate and empty. Kira and Miles were excitedly chattering about something, but she paid them no mind. She was preparing for battle, mentally preparing, more than anything.

Her current state couldn't exactly be called good, let alone the fact that she hadn't fought in a long time.

Ever since she'd picked up Renichi, she hadn't had a proper fight... And wasn't that a bit of a coincidence? Renichi must have been secretly doing a lot of things behind her back. She had no proof, but she felt it in her gut.

Coredesia's ears twitched. She stopped in her tracks.

"Huff... huff..."

Heavy breathing came from the crowd, accompanied by the harsh screech of metal grinding against metal, as if deliberately announcing its presence.

A massive, ill-fitting man emerged from the crowd.

People, in tacit agreement, gave him a wide berth as they moved away. From a distance, he looked like a boulder splitting the waves.

"Huff... huff..."

The man walked against the current, straight toward the three of them.

He wore a skull-shaped metal mask, and from the hollow eye sockets, his cold, piercing gaze leaked out. All four of his limbs were fitted with silver-white auxiliary mechanical arms, while his torso was protected by black armor. He looked less like a human and more like an autonomous mechanized soldier.

Miles murmured his name under his breath.

Coredesia gave the middle schooler a pat on the head and pointed toward the school not far away. Miles opened his mouth, as if about to say something. Then he lowered his head, merged into the crowd, and left with the rest.

Skull Head did not try to stop him. Excellent—that meant he wasn't here for the music player. Aside from the amnesiac Kira, what other reason could there be for him to come picking a fight with her?

The leader of the Wings of Death stopped five meters away. By now, the street was nearly empty. Only a handful of extraordinarily bold superpowered individuals remained hidden in the alleys, casting furtive glances.

Skull Head's voice came out rough and hoarse.

"Coredesia Spencer."

Coredesia did not back down.

"Well, if it isn't Skull Head. Haven't seen you around in a while."

The man called Skull Head wasn't looking at her. He stared at the space beside her, his cold, sinister gaze making Kira tremble with fear.

"If you want to flirt, say something witty. Standing there staring without a word won't make you look cool—it just makes you look like a creep."

Coredesia stepped forward, blocking Skull Head's line of sight.

"I'm taking her with me. Name your price."

*

When she heard those words, Kira nearly let out a scream.

Keep your distance. Don't get too close.

Why did such a rule exist? Because no one knew when they might fall into danger.

Such a rule was bad...

She refuted herself inwardly, but without much conviction.

But we're superpowered. Staying alive matters most.

Her own common sense was right. That single sentence left her with nothing to say.

She'd had a pretty good time these past few days. True, losing her memories made her uneasy, and it took her a while to fall asleep at night, but the friends she'd made were all wonderful people, and she'd truly enjoyed a few days of carefree, pleasant living.

The Wings of Death were terrifying. She had to actively distance herself from everyone. It wasn't too late yet. Be brave. Step forward.

Don't let her friends fall into danger because of her.

She stepped out from behind her friend and said through gritted teeth: "I—"

"Don't even think about it."

*

Coredesia roughly yanked the girl back.

She stated flatly and hard: "If you've got nothing else, get lost. I'm busy."

Skull Head walked closer, step by step, until he stood before her.

"My final show of sincerity." He forced the price through his teeth. "One slot."

"I'm pretty comfortable living here." She flipped him the bird. "Fight, or fuck off."

Skull Head let out a low sigh.

He turned around, putting distance between himself and the two of them, growing farther and farther away—as if, after careful deliberation, he had backed down, given up, and walked away from this whole mess.

Would Coredesia think that?

Something was forcibly pressed into Kira's hand. It was Coredesia's phone.

She heard her friend whisper softly: "Kira. Make yourself disappear."

On instinct, Kira obeyed.

At the same instant, she saw Skull Head stop in his tracks, raise both hands, and heard his malice-laden declaration—

"The Skull's Head scatters thirty feathers."

Thirty silhouettes of black light rose like feather shafts beneath the sun.

A single gunshot rang out from the ground. The top hat flew into the air.